Lee Roy Selmon Crosstown Expressway
Encyclopedia
The Lee Roy Selmon Expressway, originally known as the Southern Crosstown Expressway is a 14.168 miles (22.801 km) all-electronic, limited access toll road
in Hillsborough County
, Florida
, It connects the South Tampa
neighborhood near MacDill Air Force Base
with Downtown Tampa
and the bedroom community of Brandon
. The expressway was built in stages, opening between 1976 and 1987, and was named after famed and respected football player and local hero Lee Roy Selmon
in 1999.
The expressway was supposed to be part of a multi-expressway system that failed in the 1970s due to heavy local opposition and financial burdens. The original designation for the expressway was State Road 449, but was switched to State Road 618, which remained a hidden designation until the early 2000s, when it began appearing on maps and atlases.
The expressway features an elevated bridge, that became the world's first reversible, all-electronic, elevated express lane project, which opened in 2006, and has the hidden designation of State Road 618A. The entire expressway ended cash collection on September 17th, 2010, going all-electronic for both the express lanes and the main expressway.
in Brandon.
, east of the I-75 interchange.
^ Denotes transitional operation of the reversible lanes bridge, where the segment between 78th St and downtown Tampa is westbound traffic and the Brandon Pkwy segment east of US 301 is eastbound traffic.
^^ The Reversible Lanes are continuously open in the eastbound direction from Friday afternoon to Monday morning.
transponders (such as those from out of state), the Tampa-Hillsborough Expressway Authority
and Florida's Turnpike Enterprise
have created the "We Bill You" program (Also known as "Toll-By-Plate").
Each vehicle without a SunPass
transponder is photographed and the license plate read. If the license plate number is associated with a "We Bill You" account, that account is used to pay the toll. If there is no account, notification of the toll is mailed to the vehicle's owner; after 30 days, penalties are imposed.
, making an eastward turn at Platt Street/Willow Avenue, snaking around historic Hyde Park before ending at a 3/4 mile, six lane viaduct, spanning the Hillsborough River
in downtown Tampa, ending at Florida Avenue. Ridership was low when it opened in 1976, as people were less willing to drive the toll road when free roads were available nearby. The remaining nine miles of the expressway was built and opened in stages between 1979 and 1987, with the expressway extending to Falkenburg Road in 1983 and connecting to its eastern terminus of I-75 in 1987.
In 1975, a contest was held to determine the logo of the expressway. Only one entry was submitted, a picture of pirate Jose Gaspar
with the title "TAMPA CROSSTOWN EXPRESSWAY", all on a blue background. This logo was phased out in the early 2000s. In 2006, an "interim" logo featuring a bridge over a highway reading "Selmon-Crosstown Expressway" was unveiled but was never widely implemented along the expressway. In 2008, a more permanent logo was unveiled, which consists of the FDOT standard "TOLL 618" plates and a "Selmon Crosstown Expressway" logo. This new logo, which replaced the previous Crosstown Expressway logos, reads "SELMON EXPRESSWAY" with downtown Tampa in purple and three ribbons, a yellow one in the middle of two teal ones going towards the city.
In 2001, a city truck equipped with a hydraulic lift slammed into the 34th Street overpass when the vehicle's lift was unknowingly raised. The accident crippled a support beam, which had to be replaced. In 2005, a similar vehicle destroyed the overhead exit sign at Euclid Ave (Exit 2) and over a month passed before a replacement sign (and structure) were installed. Also, over the years there have been a few accidents that made headlines, where vehicles, traveling at high speeds, crashed into one of the toll plazas.
In 2004, the Tampa Hillsborough Expressway Authority accelerated a planned toll hike that would increase the mainline toll plazas by 25 cents and raise the 22nd St Exit tolls to 75 cents from its original date in 2009 to 2007. The toll hike took effect on January 1, 2007, with the hike for the 22nd St ramps going into effect in late June 2006.
On September 17, 2010, cash collection on the Selmon Expressway ended in favor of open road tolling
. The original toll plazas were removed and replaced with toll gantries similar to the ones installed on the express lanes, allowing free-flowing movement throughout the tollway. The tollway takes either SunPass or "We Bill You", and customers who do not have either account will be billed later for their use on the expressway.
Construction commenced in 2003 but in 2004, a portion of the elevated bridge
collapsed during construction, halting construction for about a year. The segment was repaired and all other piers were reinforced when construction resumed in 2005.
In spring 2005, two realigned sections of the eastbound lanes opened. One section is between 22nd St and 39th St, the other between 78th St and I-75. The at-grade sections of the reversible lanes now follow the old alignments. The Brandon Gateway section of the elevated bridge opened in November 2005 and gained an overwhelmingly positive input by commuters. Thus the bridge was kept open beyond January 2006 (when it was originally scheduled to close for more bridge work) during the evening rush hour.
On July 18, 2006 at 6 am, the reversible lane
s opened to westbound morning traffic (only). Long lines were formed at the Brandon Gateway well in advance as many anticipated using the new road. However, the scene from news helicopter snapshots showed that only a handful of drivers actually ended up using the new bridge, compared to the number that was expected. These findings may be blamed partly on the lack of advance notification to commuters, the number of commuters who own a SunPass transponder, and an unrelated traffic incident on Ashley Drive in downtown Tampa. Many other questions were raised as a result of the low traffic volume along the reversible lanes. The eastbound direction opened to traffic on August 29, 2006 at 3:30 pm. A "Grand Opening" celebration was held on September 23, 2006, with festivities including a 5k and 10k run across the new bridge.
On November 1, 2006, Florida's Turnpike Enterprise
began a pilot program with the THEA, known as "Toll-by-Plate". This program allows occasional commuters to utilize the Reversible Express Lanes through a system of high resolution cameras (at the 78th St barrier checkpoint/gantry) which snap photos of license plates. The commuter is then sent a bill via mail. The THEA reports that over 500 commuters have already signed up for the Toll-by-Plate program since its debut. The program's success so far may lead to future expansion to other tolled thoroughfares in Florida, such as the lower level of the Selmon Expressway, and the Veterans Expressway/Suncoast Parkway. The project was officially completed in 2007 after four years of construction at a cost of $420 million.
Level of service was upgraded from an "F" to an "A" as commuters are now able to travel at full speed, cutting travel time by as much as 60 minutes per day. The elevated lanes project won the prestigious "2007 IBTTA President's Award: Most Innovative Toll Transportation Project in the World," along with 22 awards for engineering excellence and community-friendly design. This modern solution is a prototype for eliminating urban traffic congestion and reducing green house gases. Over 12 million trips on the elevated lanes have been completed with no reported accidents.
In June 2009, a settlement was reached between the THEA, URS, and other parties, regarding the 2004 collapse of the elevated lanes and the lawsuit that followed. The THEA was able to obtain approximately $75 million dollars from the settlement, which will be used to pay off debts and help fund an upcoming widening and rehabilitation project along the downtown Tampa viaduct.
to the north, designed to help filter hazardous cargo away from Ybor City to the Port of Tampa
. The 39th Street interchange (Exit 10) permanently closed on May 13, 2010 to make way for the I-4/Selmon Expressway Connector ramps.
via Gandy Boulevard, a project that has been cancelled and revived in recent years.
Toll road
A toll road is a privately or publicly built road for which a driver pays a toll for use. Structures for which tolls are charged include toll bridges and toll tunnels. Non-toll roads are financed using other sources of revenue, most typically fuel tax or general tax funds...
in Hillsborough County
Hillsborough County, Florida
As of the census of 2000, there were 998,948 people, 391,357 households, and 255,164 families residing in the county. The population density was 951 people per square mile . There were 425,962 housing units at an average density of 405 per square mile...
, Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
, It connects the South Tampa
South Tampa
South Tampa comprises the city of Tampa communities of Beach Park, Ballast Point, Bayshore Beautiful Bayshore Gardens, Bayside West, Belmar Shore, Davis Islands, Port Tampa, Fair Oaks-Manhattan Manor, Golfview, Hyde Park, New Suburb Beautiful, Virginia Park, Palma Ceia, Rattlesnake Gandy-Sun Bay...
neighborhood near MacDill Air Force Base
MacDill Air Force Base
MacDill Air Force Base is an active United States Air Force base located approximately south-southwest of downtown Tampa, Florida...
with Downtown Tampa
Downtown Tampa
Image:Tampa_Skyline.jpg|thumb|right|350px|Downtown Tampa looking from the Hillsborough Riverpoly 2403 537 2441 500 2488 483 2516 455 2566 439 2597 410 2649 390 2682 358 2803 315 2949 342 2956 362 3068 383 3074 406 3202 431 3204 447 3332 473 3350 484 3485 1616 2446 1587 Wachovia Centerpoly 1745 1216...
and the bedroom community of Brandon
Brandon, Florida
Brandon is a census-designated place in Hillsborough County, Florida, in the United States. As of the 2010 census, the CDP had a total population of 103,483.-Founding:...
. The expressway was built in stages, opening between 1976 and 1987, and was named after famed and respected football player and local hero Lee Roy Selmon
Lee Roy Selmon
Lee Roy Selmon was a Hall of Fame NFL football defensive lineman.-Early life:Selmon was the youngest of nine children of Lucious and Jessie Selmon, raised on a farm near Eufaula, Oklahoma...
in 1999.
The expressway was supposed to be part of a multi-expressway system that failed in the 1970s due to heavy local opposition and financial burdens. The original designation for the expressway was State Road 449, but was switched to State Road 618, which remained a hidden designation until the early 2000s, when it began appearing on maps and atlases.
The expressway features an elevated bridge, that became the world's first reversible, all-electronic, elevated express lane project, which opened in 2006, and has the hidden designation of State Road 618A. The entire expressway ended cash collection on September 17th, 2010, going all-electronic for both the express lanes and the main expressway.
Route description
The tollway begins at an interchange with US Route 92 (Gandy Boulevard) and Dale Mabry Highway north of MacDill Air Force Base. It makes its way north for the first four miles before heading east towards downtown Tampa and ending at a trumpet interchange with I-75Interstate 75 in Florida
Interstate 75 is a part of the Interstate Highway System and runs from Hialeah, Florida, a few miles northwest of Miami to Sault Ste. Marie in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan...
in Brandon.
Elevated Lanes
The lanes begin at Meridian Avenue in downtown Tampa, following the main expressway's path from above in the center median for most of its journey. Just east of the proposed Interstate 4/Selmon Expressway Connector, there is an entryway from the eastbound lanes of the main expressway. Between exits 12 (78th Street) in Tampa and 13 (US Route 301) in Brandon, there is an access points for both directions for switching between the main lanes and express lanes. The express lanes end at Brandon, near Westfield BrandonWestfield Brandon
Westfield Brandon, formerly known as Brandon Town Center and Westfield Shoppingtown Brandon, is a shopping mall located eight miles east of Tampa, Florida, in the suburban community of Brandon. The mall is owned by Australian-based Westfield Group, and is one of five Westfield shopping centers in...
, east of the I-75 interchange.
Operating hours
- Weekdays
- Westbound (to Downtown): 6 am - 10 am.
- Transitional^: 10 am - 1 pm.
- Eastbound direction (Brandon Pkwy segment) opens at 10:30 am.
- Westbound direction (west of 78th St) closes at 11:30 am.
- Eastbound (to Brandon): 1 pm - 4 am.
- Weekends and Holidays
- Eastbound direction (to Brandon) ONLY^^: 1pm (Friday Afternoon) to 4am (Monday Morning)
^ Denotes transitional operation of the reversible lanes bridge, where the segment between 78th St and downtown Tampa is westbound traffic and the Brandon Pkwy segment east of US 301 is eastbound traffic.
^^ The Reversible Lanes are continuously open in the eastbound direction from Friday afternoon to Monday morning.
- Please Note that these hours are subject to change. Due to ongoing construction from the I-4/Selmon Connector project, the Reversible Lanes may be closed during overnight hours & on weekends.http://www.i4.org/projects/projectinfo.asp?projectID=175&RoadID=3
Open-Road Tolling
The Expressway have no manned toll gates. To accommodate motorists who do not have SunPassSunPass
SunPass is an electronic toll collection system in use by the State of Florida and was originally created by the Florida Department of Transportation's Florida's Turnpike...
transponders (such as those from out of state), the Tampa-Hillsborough Expressway Authority
Tampa-Hillsborough Expressway Authority
The Tampa Hillsborough County Expressway Authority is a regional expressway authority based in Hillsborough County, Florida, which includes the city of Tampa....
and Florida's Turnpike Enterprise
Florida's Turnpike Enterprise
Florida's Turnpike Enterprise is a business unit of the Florida Department of Transportation , employing private sector business practices to operate its 460-mile system of limited-access toll highways for the benefit of Florida's traveling public...
have created the "We Bill You" program (Also known as "Toll-By-Plate").
Each vehicle without a SunPass
SunPass
SunPass is an electronic toll collection system in use by the State of Florida and was originally created by the Florida Department of Transportation's Florida's Turnpike...
transponder is photographed and the license plate read. If the license plate number is associated with a "We Bill You" account, that account is used to pay the toll. If there is no account, notification of the toll is mailed to the vehicle's owner; after 30 days, penalties are imposed.
The South Crosstown Expressway
The Crosstown Expressway is the southern component of what was planned to be a system of expressways throughout the Tampa area from the 1950s to 1970's, but the rest were cancelled by the 1980s due to financial problems, land acquisition and community revolts. The first six miles of the tollway was built in the mid 1970's on a CSX rail line, from the western terminus at Gandy Blvd. at Dale Mabry HighwayDale Mabry Highway
Dale Mabry Highway is a north–south road in Tampa, Florida. The majority of its length consists of three lanes each direction plus a central turn-lane and often includes a right-turn lane. It begins at the MacDill Air Force Base entrance in South Tampa and ends by merging with US 41 just...
, making an eastward turn at Platt Street/Willow Avenue, snaking around historic Hyde Park before ending at a 3/4 mile, six lane viaduct, spanning the Hillsborough River
Hillsborough River (Florida)
The Hillsborough River is a river located in the state of Florida in the USA. It arises in the Green Swamp near the juncture of Hillsborough, Pasco and Polk counties, and flows through Pasco and Hillsborough Counties to an outlet in the city of Tampa on Tampa Bay. The name Hillsborough River first...
in downtown Tampa, ending at Florida Avenue. Ridership was low when it opened in 1976, as people were less willing to drive the toll road when free roads were available nearby. The remaining nine miles of the expressway was built and opened in stages between 1979 and 1987, with the expressway extending to Falkenburg Road in 1983 and connecting to its eastern terminus of I-75 in 1987.
In 1975, a contest was held to determine the logo of the expressway. Only one entry was submitted, a picture of pirate Jose Gaspar
Jose Gaspar
José Gaspar, known by his nickname Gasparilla , was a purported Spanish pirate, the "last of the Buccaneers," who is claimed to have raided the west coast of Florida during the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Though he is a popular figure in Florida folklore, no evidence of his existence...
with the title "TAMPA CROSSTOWN EXPRESSWAY", all on a blue background. This logo was phased out in the early 2000s. In 2006, an "interim" logo featuring a bridge over a highway reading "Selmon-Crosstown Expressway" was unveiled but was never widely implemented along the expressway. In 2008, a more permanent logo was unveiled, which consists of the FDOT standard "TOLL 618" plates and a "Selmon Crosstown Expressway" logo. This new logo, which replaced the previous Crosstown Expressway logos, reads "SELMON EXPRESSWAY" with downtown Tampa in purple and three ribbons, a yellow one in the middle of two teal ones going towards the city.
In 2001, a city truck equipped with a hydraulic lift slammed into the 34th Street overpass when the vehicle's lift was unknowingly raised. The accident crippled a support beam, which had to be replaced. In 2005, a similar vehicle destroyed the overhead exit sign at Euclid Ave (Exit 2) and over a month passed before a replacement sign (and structure) were installed. Also, over the years there have been a few accidents that made headlines, where vehicles, traveling at high speeds, crashed into one of the toll plazas.
In 2004, the Tampa Hillsborough Expressway Authority accelerated a planned toll hike that would increase the mainline toll plazas by 25 cents and raise the 22nd St Exit tolls to 75 cents from its original date in 2009 to 2007. The toll hike took effect on January 1, 2007, with the hike for the 22nd St ramps going into effect in late June 2006.
On September 17, 2010, cash collection on the Selmon Expressway ended in favor of open road tolling
Open road tolling
Open road tolling or free-flow tolling is the collection of tolls on toll roads without the use of toll booths. An electronic toll collection system is usually used instead. The major advantage to ORT is that users are able to drive through the toll plaza at highway speeds without having to slow...
. The original toll plazas were removed and replaced with toll gantries similar to the ones installed on the express lanes, allowing free-flowing movement throughout the tollway. The tollway takes either SunPass or "We Bill You", and customers who do not have either account will be billed later for their use on the expressway.
The Reversible Elevated Lanes
The reversible lanes, aimed at cutting traffic congestion times, was originally envisioned in 1995 by the Tampa Hillsborough Expressway Authority (THEA) as an innovative idea to increase capacity along the Lee Roy Selmon Expressway from Downtown Tampa to Brandon without acquiring additional right-of-way. Instead, an elevated, three-lane bridge was built over the existing median of the expressway. Planning for the project began around 1995/1996, but final designs/planning were not made until the later 1990s.Construction commenced in 2003 but in 2004, a portion of the elevated bridge
Bridge
A bridge is a structure built to span physical obstacles such as a body of water, valley, or road, for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle...
collapsed during construction, halting construction for about a year. The segment was repaired and all other piers were reinforced when construction resumed in 2005.
In spring 2005, two realigned sections of the eastbound lanes opened. One section is between 22nd St and 39th St, the other between 78th St and I-75. The at-grade sections of the reversible lanes now follow the old alignments. The Brandon Gateway section of the elevated bridge opened in November 2005 and gained an overwhelmingly positive input by commuters. Thus the bridge was kept open beyond January 2006 (when it was originally scheduled to close for more bridge work) during the evening rush hour.
Reversible lane
A reversible lane , called a counterflow lane or contraflow lane in transport engineering nomenclature, is a lane in which traffic may travel in either direction, depending on certain conditions...
s opened to westbound morning traffic (only). Long lines were formed at the Brandon Gateway well in advance as many anticipated using the new road. However, the scene from news helicopter snapshots showed that only a handful of drivers actually ended up using the new bridge, compared to the number that was expected. These findings may be blamed partly on the lack of advance notification to commuters, the number of commuters who own a SunPass transponder, and an unrelated traffic incident on Ashley Drive in downtown Tampa. Many other questions were raised as a result of the low traffic volume along the reversible lanes. The eastbound direction opened to traffic on August 29, 2006 at 3:30 pm. A "Grand Opening" celebration was held on September 23, 2006, with festivities including a 5k and 10k run across the new bridge.
On November 1, 2006, Florida's Turnpike Enterprise
Florida's Turnpike
Florida's Turnpike , designated as the Ronald Reagan Turnpike, and originally known as the Sunshine State Parkway is a north–south toll road that runs through 11 counties in the Florida peninsula, from U.S...
began a pilot program with the THEA, known as "Toll-by-Plate". This program allows occasional commuters to utilize the Reversible Express Lanes through a system of high resolution cameras (at the 78th St barrier checkpoint/gantry) which snap photos of license plates. The commuter is then sent a bill via mail. The THEA reports that over 500 commuters have already signed up for the Toll-by-Plate program since its debut. The program's success so far may lead to future expansion to other tolled thoroughfares in Florida, such as the lower level of the Selmon Expressway, and the Veterans Expressway/Suncoast Parkway. The project was officially completed in 2007 after four years of construction at a cost of $420 million.
Level of service was upgraded from an "F" to an "A" as commuters are now able to travel at full speed, cutting travel time by as much as 60 minutes per day. The elevated lanes project won the prestigious "2007 IBTTA President's Award: Most Innovative Toll Transportation Project in the World," along with 22 awards for engineering excellence and community-friendly design. This modern solution is a prototype for eliminating urban traffic congestion and reducing green house gases. Over 12 million trips on the elevated lanes have been completed with no reported accidents.
In June 2009, a settlement was reached between the THEA, URS, and other parties, regarding the 2004 collapse of the elevated lanes and the lawsuit that followed. The THEA was able to obtain approximately $75 million dollars from the settlement, which will be used to pay off debts and help fund an upcoming widening and rehabilitation project along the downtown Tampa viaduct.
The Interstate 4/State Road 618 Connector Project
This is a planned connector between the Selmon Expressway and nearby Interstate 4Interstate 4
Interstate 4 is a intrastate Highway located entirely within the state of Florida, United States. It goes from Interstate 275 in Tampa, Florida to Interstate 95 at Daytona Beach, Florida . It also has the Florida Department of Transportation designation of State Road 400, but only a small...
to the north, designed to help filter hazardous cargo away from Ybor City to the Port of Tampa
Port of Tampa
The Port of Tampa is located on the western coast or Suncoast of Florida, approximately 25 miles from open waters of the Gulf of Mexico. The boundaries of the Port district includes parts of Tampa Bay, Hillsborough Bay, McKay Bay, Old Tampa Bay and the Hillsborough River.The port of Tampa is the...
. The 39th Street interchange (Exit 10) permanently closed on May 13, 2010 to make way for the I-4/Selmon Expressway Connector ramps.
Downtown Viaduct Widening Project
The THEA is currently in the process of finalizing plans to rehabilitate and widen the section of the elevated expressway from Morgan St to 20th St from its existing four lanes, to six lanes. Much of the funding for the $70 million dollar project has been secured, with some of the funds coming from the recent settlement between the THEA and other parties for the 2004 collapse of the elevated express lanes at 50th St. The project is scheduled to begin sometime in 2010.Contra-flow Study
A study regarding a contra-flow plan for the Selmon during a large-scale evacuation is currently underway. The Hillsborough County EOC and THEA are planning out just how the expressway could be used as an evacuation route. The big limitation of the plans was the reason that the original plans were cancelled is the I-75 trumpet interchange, which narrows to one lane on three of the four ramps to and from the interstate. The current plan, if approved, is as follows.- Selmon Expressway mainline from Gandy Blvd to Florida Ave: Would be one-way eastbound.
- Selmon Expressway mainline from Florida Ave to I-75: Would be two-way with westbound direction allowing first responders and other emergency personnel quick access to downtown.
- Selmon Expressway reversible express lanes: Would be one-way eastbound for the entire route.
Gandy Boulevard Connector
The THEA is in the planning stages of building a corridor from the current western terminus of the expressway west to the Gandy BridgeGandy Bridge
Gandy Bridge is the southernmost bridge spanning Old Tampa Bay from St. Petersburg, Florida to Tampa, Florida. Almost three miles long, it is one of three bridges connecting Hillsborough County and Pinellas County; the others being the Howard Frankland Bridge and the Courtney Campbell...
via Gandy Boulevard, a project that has been cancelled and revived in recent years.
Exit list
Elevated express lanesExternal links
- Hillsborough County Expressway Authority Website The Tampa expressway authority that owns Selmon Expressway.